Ohio State football: Another highly rated offensive lineman commits

Friday

Jun 28, 2013 at 12:01 AMJun 28, 2013 at 9:22 AM

There has been no swoon in June for the Ohio State football recruiting effort. The Buckeyes picked up yet another blue-chip prospect yesterday in offensive lineman Jamarco Jones, their fifth pledge in the past nine days.

Tim May, The Columbus Dispatch

There has been no swoon in June for the Ohio State football recruiting effort. The Buckeyes picked up yet another blue-chip prospect yesterday in offensive lineman Jamarco Jones, their fifth pledge in the past nine days.

And Jones echoed one of the primary reasons used by the other four - quarterback Stephen Collier, receiver Terry McLaurin, defensive end Jalyn Holmes and kicker Sean Nuernberger - in picking the Buckeyes.

"They can push me to become a better player and person," Jones said during his announcement at his high school, Chicago De La Salle, yesterday afternoon.

At the same time, the commitment of the consensus four-star (out of five) prospect helped boost the Buckeyes in the recruiting rankings. Before this latest spate of pledges, the 2014 Ohio State class was ranked No. 13 in the country by 247sports.com and trailing Michigan, which was No. 4. Yesterday, the revised standings showed OSU No. 3, behind No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Texas A&M, while Michigan had slid to No. 7.

The Jones pledge greased that OSU-Michigan dynamic because his final three included those schools and Michigan State.

"There's no doubt this is a major win for Ohio State, and certainly a boost to the Buckeyes' offensive line recruiting," Bucknuts veteran recruiting analyst Bill Kurelic said. "Jamarco is the highest-rated offensive linemen they've landed in recent years (No. 4 among tackles according to 247sports; No. 13 according to rivals.com).

"Couple that with the fact offensive line is a major priority in this class, and that makes his commitment a huge plus for Ohio State."

Jones is the third offensive lineman in the 14-member class that includes Kyle Trout of Lancaster and Marcelys Jones of Cleveland Glenville, also four-star prospects according to 247sports. And Kurelic said he thinks the Buckeyes still have a shot at changing the mind of junior-college lineman Jermaine Eluemunor, who committed to UCLA.

Jones, on the other hand, left no doubt about his choice.

"I will be continuing my academic and athletic career at Ohio State," he said. "It just felt right."